Union Pushes Back On Goddard Visitor Center Closure

Keith’s note: according to a press release “GESTA Calls for Immediate Intervention to Halt Closure of the NASA Goddard Visitor Center”: “IFPTE Local 29 (aka, GESTA), representing Federal employees at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is calling on Congressional leaders, local government officials, economic stakeholders, and the public to take immediate action to stop the proposed closure of the NASA Goddard Visitor Center — a decision that, if enacted, would inflict irreparable harm on the community, the regional economy, and NASA’s public mission.” More below

The Goddard Visitor Center is a premier exploration and learning space that creates “a vital link between space exploration and the American public,” a fellow union member stated. Closing the Visitor Center is a devastating decision which would greatly impact public engagement and education of the NASA mission. There are guided programs, tours, virtual field trips, and various other programs that service students in the DMV as well as from other states and countries. The Visitor Center brings subject matter experts and volunteers who provide a wealth of knowledge to the community via regular monthly programming. Among them are Model Rocket Launch, Science Saturdays, Mission Experiment, Space for Me, Ask a Scientist, HerStory: Women of Goddard, Scavenger Hunts, Family Science Adventure, and several others. The Goddard Visitor Center also offers science home-schooling sessions throughout the year.

A MISSION-CRITICAL PUBLIC OUTREACH HUB

In 2024 alone, the NASA Goddard Visitor Center achieved the following:

• 33,605 walk-in visitors, engaged across 268 days open.
• 17,522 participants in 274 free public programs, fostering STEM education and community connection.
• 6,223 participants from 43 states +DC and 17 international schools attended virtual field trips, extending NASA’s reach beyond regional lines.
• 3,063 youth and adults took part in 96 onsite guided field trip programs, enriching classrooms with real-world science.
• Approximately 1200 volunteer hours, with subject matter experts and dedicated community docents leading public engagement.

And all of it is free of charge to the American public.

It’s worth noting that a majority of these exhibits and programs are supported on weekends and after hours by many of Goddard’s engineers, researchers, and scientists when they volunteer as subject matter experts. They see it as a way to educate the public about their work and inspire generations to continuously value NASA’s mission of world leadership in space exploration!

AN ECONOMIC RESOURCE FOR THE DMV

The Visitor Center is not simply an educational venue, it draws tens of thousands of visitors annually who support local businesses, hotels, and restaurants. Closure of the Center would mean:

• Lost tourism dollars.
• Reduced visibility for the Goddard Space Flight Center in NASA’s broader mission.
• Disconnection of local families and school systems from the U.S. space program.
• A weakened ability to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and space leaders.

A TARGETED AND PUNITIVE MOVE?

There is growing concern that the closure may be more than a budgetary decision. The Union has yet to receive any indications of other NASA Centers closing their Visitor Centers. The Union has received reports suggesting that this measure, like the planned closures of the Goddard Onsite Occupational Health Unit, Fitness Center, onsite vending services, the onsite Cafeteria, and the onsite Recreational Center is perceived by some employees as purposefully punitive, seemingly designed to inflict maximum institutional pain on remaining employees who chose not to voluntarily separate or resign during recent agency downsizing or restructuring. “This feels less like austerity and more like retribution,” said another Union member. “Rather than strengthening the agency’s future, this closure alienates the very community that helped NASA thrive.”

A CALL TO ACTION

The Union is demanding that the closure of the Goddard Visitor Center be immediately paused pending:

1. A transparent economic and community impact study, developed in coordination with local leaders and stakeholders.
2. A community stakeholder engagement forum, hosted jointly with the Union, state and local governments, and NASA management.
3. Congressional oversight to investigate the underlying rationale for this closure, and to determine whether it aligns with federal public engagement mandates and the agency mission strategy.

CONCLUSION

The NASA Goddard Visitor Center provides a representation of NASA’s paramount scientific developments and exemplifies the best of public service, scientific exploration, and community engagement. To dismantle it under the guise of restructuring is to diminish the scientific accomplishments and ingenuity of American spaceflight and to abandon the communities that make these things possible.

We urge Members of Congress, the Maryland General Assembly, Local Government throughout the DMV, and all economic and educational advocacy partners to speak out, step forward, and help reverse this deeply misguided decision before it’s too late. The Goddard Visitor Center provides unparalleled scientific insight into space for aspiring minds of all generations – a connection to NASA that the community embraces. Let Goddard continue to reach for the stars—and let the community keep watching!
For further information, interviews, or partnership inquiries, please contact us at GESTA

Email: contact-at-gesta-goddard.org
More info at: https://www.gesta-goddard.org